The present invention relates to a windshield installation for a vehicle such as a snowmobile or the like.
Snowmobiles commonly include a forward mounted engine covered by a cowling having a rearward edge to which a windshield made of plastic or a similar flexible transparent material is connected to means of a plurality of brackets. This type of construction is not entirely satisfactory since it imposes a limitation on the design of the cowling since the latter cannot be extended rearwardly beyond the location desired for mounting the windshield.
One design for overcoming the above noted objection to known mountings of windshields to cowlings is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,254 issued on 25 Jan. 1972 to Lapointe et al. In the Lapointe et al device the windshield is mounted in a groove or trough formed in the cowling through means including a moldng located in the groove and receiving the lower edge of the windshield and a plurality of clips which are respectively located in a plurality of openings in the lower edge of the windshield and which have lower ends extending through a plurality of openings provided in the groove in the cowling, the ends being bent so as to engage the lower side of the cowling and hold the windshield in place.
While the Lapointe et al device does permit the designer to have the desired latitude in designing the cowling, it has the disadvantage that the clips are cumbersome to install and are likewise cumbersome to remove in order to replace the windshield should it become damaged.